Trailblazers, the wait is almost over! Tomorrow, April 9, 2025, Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.2 launches, bringing with it the highly anticipated 5-star Quantum character, Castorice, a formidable DPS on the Path of Remembrance. With the update just hours away, now’s the perfect time to prepare for her arrival and master her unique playstyle.

Castorice Overview

• Rarity: 5-Star
• Element: Quantum
• Path: Remembrance
• Role: Primary DPS with HP-scaling damage and a unique memosprite mechanic.

Castorice is a 5-star Quantum character on the Path of Remembrance, set to release in Phase 1 of Version 3.2 (April 8, 2025). Her kit revolves around summoning a memosprite (Netherwing) and managing a "Newbud" resource tied to HP loss, making her a sustained DPS who excels in prolonged fights. She’s Skill Point-efficient and thrives with HP-focused teams.

Castorice Kit Summary

• Basic Attack: Deals Quantum DMG equal to 50% of Castorice’s Max HP to a single enemy.
• Skill: Consumes 40% of all allies’ current HP (minimum 1 HP) to deal Quantum DMG equal to 50% of her Max HP to a target and 25% to adjacent enemies. Becomes "Boneclaw, Doomdrake’s Embrace" when Netherwing is active, enhancing damage.
• Ultimate: Summons Netherwing, advances its action by 100%, and creates the "Lost Netherland" Territory, reducing enemies’ All-Type RES by 20%. Netherwing has 140 SPD and HP equal to 100% of max "Newbud." It acts 3 times or until its HP depletes, then disappears, dealing 6 instances of Quantum DMG (each 20% of Max HP) to random enemies and restoring HP to allies (20% of Max HP + 800).
• Talent: Gains 1 "Newbud" per HP lost by allies. At max Newbud (based on team levels), her Ultimate unlocks. When allies lose HP, her and Netherwing’s DMG increases by 20% (stacks up to 3 times, lasts 3 turns). While Netherwing is active, Newbud gain stops, and allies’ HP loss converts to Netherwing’s HP.
• Technique: Deals Quantum DMG to nearby enemies and starts battle with 25% of max Newbud.

Her playstyle focuses on HP manipulation and Netherwing uptime for maximum damage output.

Castorice Light Cones

Currently there are only two Rememberance Light Cones that are usable on Castorice. If players do not have any of them, they should put on Castorice the cone with the highest base HP that they have.

Make Farewells More Beautiful (5-Star)

Increases Max HP by 30%. When the wearer or their memosprite loses HP during their turn, grants "Death Flower," ignoring 24% of enemy DEF for 2 turns. Advances action by 12% when the memosprite disappears.

Why It’s Best: Boosts HP for scaling, enhances damage via DEF ignore, and improves turn efficiency.

Sweat Now, Cry Less

Sweat Now, Cry Less is Castorice's best 4-star Light Cone since this provides a CRIT Rate boost and increased DMG for when her Memosprite deals DMG.

Castorice Relics

4-Piece Set: Poet of Mourning Collapse

• 2-Piece: +10% Quantum DMG.
• 4-Piece: +32% CRIT Rate if SPD is below 95.

Why It’s Best: Castorice’s base SPD (low) ensures the CRIT Rate bonus, and Quantum DMG boosts her output. Avoid SPD substats to maintain the effect.

Alternative 4-Piece: Genius of Brilliant Stars

• 2-Piece: +10% Quantum DMG.
• 4-Piece: Ignores 10% DEF (20% vs. Quantum-weak enemies).

Use Case: Strong against Quantum-weak foes, stacking with her Light Cone’s DEF ignore.

Planetary Set: Bone Collection’s Serene Demesne (2-Piece)

+12% Max HP; +28% CRIT DMG if HP is 5,000+ (applies to Castorice and Netherwing).

Why It’s Best: Enhances HP scaling and CRIT DMG, leveraging her high HP builds.

Main Stats

• Body: CRIT DMG (since Poet provides CRIT Rate).
• Feet: HP% (primary) or SPD (if tuning for breakpoints).
• Planar Sphere: Quantum DMG%.
• Link Rope: HP% (maximizes scaling).

Substats Priority

• HP% (target 5,000-6,000).
• CRIT DMG (150%+ with buffs).
• CRIT Rate (stop at ~100% with Poet and buffs).
• ATK% (minor boost).

Castorice Team Compositions

Best Team

1. Castorice (DPS)
2. Remembrance Trailblazer (Support): CRIT DMG buffs, True DMG, and turn advances (E1+ ideal).
3. Tribbie (Support): Boosts team damage, benefits from Castorice’s HP pool.
4. Gallagher (Sustain): Skill Point-friendly healing and Besotted debuff.

Strategy: Maximizes Netherwing uptime and damage buffs.

F2P Team

1. Castorice (DPS)
2. Remembrance Trailblazer (Support): Free from story.
3. Pela (Support): DEF reduction.
4. Lynx (Sustain): HP-based healing.

Strategy: Budget-friendly with decent synergy.

HP-Drain Synergy

1. Castorice (DPS)
2. Mydei (Sub-DPS): Consumes HP, boosting Newbud.
3. Blade (Sub-DPS): Similar HP-loss synergy.
4. Gallagher (Sustain): Heals HP loss.

Strategy: High-risk, high-reward damage stacking.

Notes: Gallagher is on her banner, making him a natural fit. Avoid low-HP supports unless paired with strong healers.

Honkai: Star Rail’s Version 3.2, "Through the Petals in the Land of Repose," drops on April 9, 2025, and it’s shaping up to be a big one. With the community buzzing after the March 28 livestream, all eyes are on two new 5-star standouts: Castorice, a Quantum Remembrance powerhouse, and Anaxa, a Wind Erudition maestro. This update’s packed with fresh characters, reworked mechanics, and hefty rewards, making it a prime time for Trailblazers to dive in—or decide who’s worth their Stellar Jade. Let’s break down what these two bring to the table and why 3.2’s got everyone talking.

Castorice - Abilities and Kit

• Rarity: 5-star
• Path: Remembrance
• Element: Quantum
• Role: Main DPS / Hypercarry

Abilities

• Basic Attack: Hits one enemy with Quantum damage. Nothing fancy, just a standard poke—probably not your main damage source.
• Skill: Deals Quantum damage to all enemies and drains a chunk of your team’s HP (think 25-30% per ally). This fuels her damage scaling and charges her Ultimate.
• Ultimate: Summons Netherwing, a dragon that sticks around as a summon. It’s got its own HP bar and two moves:
  • Claw Hit: Quantum damage to all enemies.
  • Fire Breath: Stronger Quantum AoE damage, but it burns through Netherwing’s HP (you pick how much—25% up to 100%). More HP spent, more damage dealt. When Netherwing dies or its turn count runs out (usually 3 actions), it explodes for extra damage and heals your team.
• Talent: Ties her damage to HP loss. For every bit of HP your allies lose, she builds “Stamen Nova” stacks, boosting her and Netherwing’s damage (up to 3 stacks, 20% each, so max 60%). At full stacks, her Ultimate’s ready. Oh, and she’s got a wild global passive: if an ally takes a fatal blow (even when she’s not in the party), they hang on in a near-death state, giving you a chance to revive them with specific conditions (details TBD).
• Technique: Starts a fight with Netherwing already on the field, skipping the buildup.

Playstyle

Castorice is a high-risk, high-reward DPS. She scales off HP loss—hers and her team’s—so you’re constantly juggling health to pump out damage. Netherwing’s a big part of her kit, turning fights into a spectacle of AoE destruction. That global passive is a game-changer too, offering insurance against wipes in tough content like Memory of Chaos (MoC).

Anaxa - Abilities and Kit

• Rarity: 5-star
• Path: Erudition
• Element: Wind
• Role: Sub-DPS / Support Hybrid

Abilities

• Basic Attack: Deals Wind damage to one enemy. Scales decently (around 100% of his ATK), and each hit adds a random elemental weakness to the target (prioritizing ones they don’t already have).
• Skill: Bounce attack hitting multiple enemies with Wind damage. Like his basic, it tacks on random weaknesses per hit.
• Ultimate: The big one—slaps all seven elemental weaknesses (Physical, Fire, Ice, Wind, Lightning, Quantum, Imaginary) on every enemy for 1 turn. Plus, it stuns them unless they’ve got Control Resistance.
• Talent: “Tetrad Wisdom Reigns Thrice” keeps the weakness party going. Every attack (basic, skill, or follow-up) adds a random weakness, stacking up to make enemies vulnerable to whatever your team’s packing.
• Technique: Likely boosts his opening move, maybe extra energy or a free weakness implant (not fully detailed yet).

Playstyle

Anaxa’s all about versatility. He’s an AoE damage dealer who doubles as a support by making enemies weak to everything under the sun. His Ultimate’s a cheat code for team flexibility, letting any DPS shred through toughness bars. He’s not the heaviest hitter on his own, but he sets the table for everyone else.

Comparison and Team Roles

Damage Output

Castorice: She’s a beast when built right. Her damage scales with HP loss, and Netherwing’s Fire Breath can reportedly hit over 1 million in optimal setups (per online buzz). She’s AoE-focused but shines brightest in prolonged fights where you can stack her buffs. Needs her signature Light Cone (Make Farewells More Beautiful) for max output—free-to-play options like Bailu’s LC are okay but drop her damage by 20-30%.

Anaxa: His personal damage is solid but not top-tier. Think Herta-level AoE with better scaling (maybe 200-300k per rotation at E0S1). His strength isn’t raw numbers—it’s the weakness implants that amp your whole team’s damage. His signature (Along the Passing Shore) boosts him, but the free 4-star The Great Cosmic Enterprise works fine.

Winner: Castorice for raw damage, hands down. Anaxa’s output leans on teammates exploiting his setups.

Team Role and Synergy

Castorice: Hypercarry DPS. She wants a team built around her—HP-scaling supports like Blade or Mydei to feed her stacks, a healer like Luocha or Gallagher to keep the squad alive, and a buffer like Tribbie or Sunday for extra damage. She’s niche; without the right crew, her HP-drain gimmick can backfire. Best for MoC or Apocalyptic Shadow (AS) where sustained DPS matters.

Anaxa: Sub-DPS/Support hybrid. He slots into almost any team—pair him with The Herta for Pure Fiction (PF) clears, Acheron for MoC toughness breaks, or even break-focused units like Firefly. His weakness implants make him a universal enabler, especially if your roster’s missing certain elements. Shines in PF and AS, less so in single-target MoC stages.

Winner: Anaxa for flexibility. Castorice is stronger but demands specific teammates; Anaxa adapts to what you’ve got.

Ease of Use

Castorice: Tricky. You’re managing HP, timing Netherwing’s HP burn, and praying your sustain keeps up. Autoplay AI might struggle with her, and she’s Light Cone-dependent.

Anaxa: Straightforward. Spam attacks, drop the Ultimate, watch enemies melt to your DPS. Works fine on auto and isn’t as tied to his signature gear.

Winner: Anaxa. Castorice takes more brainpower and resources.

Longevity

Castorice: Her global passive and unique Remembrance mechanics suggest she’ll stay relevant, especially as more HP-scaling units drop. But her niche could get outshined if Hoyo pushes other paths harder.

Anaxa: Weakness implantation is future-proof—enemies aren’t ditching toughness bars anytime soon. He’ll stay useful as long as team variety matters.

Winner: Tie. Both have staying power, just in different ways.

Who’s Worth Pulling For?

Pull Castorice if: You want a flashy, high-damage Quantum DPS and can afford her Light Cone plus a tailored team (Tribbie, a healer, etc.). She’s meta for MoC/AS and a blast to play if you like risky strategies. Skip if you’re F2P with no HP-scaling supports or Jade to spare—she’s a commitment.

Pull Anaxa if: You need a Wind unit, value versatility, or lack DPS for certain weaknesses. He’s a safer bet for F2P players (cheaper to build, free LC viable) and boosts any team, especially in PF or mixed-content runs. Skip if you’ve already got strong AoE like Herta or Jade and don’t need the support angle.

Verdict

Castorice is stronger in raw power and meta potential—probably a T0 DPS with the right setup—but Anaxa’s broader utility and lower investment make him more worthwhile for most players. If you’re chasing endgame clears and have the resources, Castorice is your gal. If you want a flexible unit to round out your roster without breaking the bank, Anaxa’s the pick. Personally, I’d lean Anaxa for the chill vibes and team synergy, but Castorice’s dragon is tempting if you’re stacked on Jade.
What’s your roster like? That could tip the scales.

"Abyss of Fate" in Janusopolis is the smallest new area in Amphoreus in Honkai: Star Rail. Even so, it offers a great exploration experience with several 3D rooms that need puzzles to be solved before players can unlock all the area offers.

But treasure chests aren’t the only rewards for Trailblazers in this area. Two hidden achievements can only be unlocked by interacting with Enlightenments and Fragments of Recollection. Like other achievements in the game, completing these will reward players with Stellar Jades. If you're aiming to unlock these achievements, here’s how to find Enlightenments and Fragments of Recollection in Janusopolis in Honkai: Star Rail.

"Abyss of Fate" Janusopolis Enlightenment Locations

Trailblazers can find 4 Enlightenments in the "Abyss of Fate" area in Janusopolis in Honkai: Star Rail. Janusopolis is unlocked early on after starting the Trailblaze Mission in Amphoreus, so most players should have it available by now. One of the Enlightenments is in a tricky 3D room, but it's positioned right at the entrance, so players don’t need to solve any puzzles to grab it.

1. Start by teleporting to the Destiny's Desolation Space Anchor in Janusopolis and walk straight ahead until you reach the 3D room. Once inside, go to the left and take the stairs up to the second level. The Oronyx's Statue Enlightenment will be at the end of the path.
2. Next, teleport to the Silent Shroud Space Anchor just outside the 3D room and head west to the edge of the road to find the Worldbearing Titan Enlightenment.
3. From there, return to the Space Anchor and walk north toward Janus' Hidden Passage to find another Enlightenment called Gate of Infinity.
4. Now, either use Janus' Hidden Passage to cross to the other side of the building or teleport with the Everdream Gate Space Anchor. Enter the 3D room on the north side, and you’ll find the Talanton's Scale Enlightenment near the entrance in the center of the room.

Interacting with all 4 Enlightenments in the "Abyss of Fate" area in Janusopolis in Honkai: Star Rail will reward Trailblazers with the 'I Call Upon Night of Old' achievement.

"Abyss of Fate" Janusopolis Fragments of Recollection Locations

There is just 1 Fragment of Recollection in the "Abyss of Fate" area in Janusopolis in Honkai: Star Rail. To find it, Trailblazers can teleport to the Dreamshroud Mausoleum Space Anchor and walk ahead to the purple crystal in the room. The afterimages from the Fragment show a Holy Maiden and a Stonemason. The maiden is asking for volcanic glass, and their conversation later shifts to the political turmoil in the city. The Stonemason warns the maiden to flee if things escalate, as the city officials treat her poorly.

Players will unlock the hidden ' Holy Deer's Death ' achievement after hearing the past in the Fragments of Recollection at this location. Additionally, suppose this is the first time Trailblazers reach the Dreamshroud Mausoleum in the "Abyss of Fate" Janusopolis after finishing the entire Trailblaze Mission. In that case, they will also earn the 'Dawn of the Living Dead' achievement.

Tip: Don't forget to claim your Stellar Jade rewards from the Achievements page, which can be accessed through the main menu.

>>> Read more: March 7th Could Take Center Stage in Honkai: Star Rail's Amphoreus Arc

In Honkai: Star Rail, the key to winning battles is putting together the right team. If you choose the right characters and make sure they work well together, you can handle any challenge in the game easily. Finding the best team combination can lead to huge damage and really powerful effects.

Building a team in Honkai: Star Rail relies a lot on luck, so not everyone will have access to the top characters. However, free-to-play (F2P) units can still handle almost any challenge. Here are the best F2P team setups in Honkai: Star Rail that anyone can use.

1. Ol' Reliable Team

This is the basic F2P team setup in Honkai: Star Rail that all players should know about. It includes:

• 1 Tank
• 1 DPS
• 1 Healer
• 1 Flex pick

Players can use this team anywhere and still do well, as long as they play strategically. Since it's a classic RPG setup, it's also quite flexible with character choices. The starting trio of Dan Heng, March 7th, and Physical Trailblazer can easily handle the story content in Honkai: Star Rail, as well as most early levels of Forgotten Hall and Simulated Universe.

2. Double Tank Team

As the name implies, this team setup uses two tanks to share enemy attention and protect the rest of the team. It is composed of:

• Fire Trailblazer
• March 7th
• 2 Flex picks

As of the launch version of Honkai: Star Rail, March, and Fire Trailblazer are the only free-to-play (F2P) tanks available. Fortunately, both of them are really effective at their roles.

This team setup offers a lot of flexibility for damage options. You can use any characters for the remaining two slots, and because the tanks provide ample protection, a healer is optional unless you’re in a long boss fight. Depending on the enemies you face, either March or Fire Trailblazer can also handle Weakness Breaking, while the other continues their tank role.

3. Hyper Carry Team

Using a hyper-carry team can be risky, but it can be very rewarding if players manage their units well. An example of this with F2P characters might look like:

• Dan Heng/Any DPS carry
• Tingyun
• Asta
• A Tank or Healer

In this F2P team setup, Asta and Tingyun will mainly focus on boosting the team's DPS to deal massive damage to enemies. Bronya is the perfect support for this team, replacing Asta's speed boosts with attack and crit damage buffs that work well with Tingyun's buffs.

The last slot can be filled by either a tank or a healer. Typically, March 7th or Fire Trailblazer with any 4-star Light Cone will do the job. They can break Toughness Bars, giving the rest of the team more room to execute their big moves.

4. Elation Meme Team

This team is tailored for the Simulated Universe and focuses on using ultimate abilities and follow-up attacks to achieve massive damage, thanks to Elation's many blessings. The team setup is as follows:

• March 7th
• Herta
• Dr. Ratio
• Pela

This team doesn’t worry much about elemental weaknesses. With Slaughterhouse No. 4 and either Auto-Harmonica or Champion's Dinner: Cat's Cradle, players can overpower almost any challenge with raw damage. Adding Freeze-related bonuses from Remembrance ensures enemies won’t get a chance to act before being wiped out by powerful ultimates and Herta spins. This best F2P team setup in Honkai: Star Rail works best with E6 March, as her shield can heal allies.

Dr. Ratio was added as a free 5-star character for players who played Honkai: Star Rail from January 16, 2024, until the end of the 2.1 patch. Players who missed out on him during that period might need to roll for him in a future banner.

5. Hyperbreak Team

With Imaginary Trailblazer now in HSR, players can create teams that leverage the Break system. Here’s a team setup that’s friendly for free-to-play players:

• Imaginary Trailblazer
• Sushang
• Bronya
• Any sustain unit (Tank or Healer)

Imaginary Trailblazer has an effect called Super Break, allowing allies to deal huge bonus damage to enemies whose Toughness Bars are already broken. This character works especially well with someone like Sushang, who becomes much more powerful against enemies that are broken.

Bronya is the ideal second Harmony unit for this setup because she can make other team members take extra turns, speeding up the depletion of Toughness Bars by letting key characters attack more often. Players can obtain her for free after completing 300 pulls on the standard banner.

Bronya is the perfect second Harmony unit for this setup because she can give extra turns to other team members, helping to reduce Toughness Bars faster by letting important characters attack more often. Players can get her for free after doing 300 pulls on the standard banner.

6. Pure Fiction Team

The last F2P team setup in Honkai: Star Rail we would like to suggest is a pure fiction team. This team includes the top Pure Fiction characters in Honkai: Star Rail, but is especially geared towards free-to-play players.

• Herta
• Serval
• Gallagher
• Guinaifen

This team gets its damage from Serval and Herta. Both are very good at hitting all enemies at once. Serval can lower weaker enemies' health to 50%, so Herta can then hit them even harder.

Both Guinaifen and Gallagher are excellent at handling groups of enemies. Guinaifen can apply the Firekiss debuff to several enemies at once, which makes them take more damage from everything. Gallagher can boost the Break DMG enemies receive with his Besotted debuff. Plus, even though Gallagher is a healer, he can deal a lot of damage if built correctly.

>>> Read more: Honkai: Star Rail New Hoolay Boss Leaked

Firefly and Jade are two upcoming 5-star characters in Honkai: Star Rail 3.2 with amazing kits. Though patch 2.2 is still on the way, Firefly and Jade's kits have been leaked, grabbing fans' attention, especially after Firefly's impressive appearance in patches 2.0 and 2.1.

I. Jade's Leaked Kit

Jade is the upcoming 5-star Quantum Erudition character. Her normal attack deals Quantum DMG to an enemy and some surrounding targets. She is a senior manager at the Strategist Investment Department in the Interastral Peace Corporation. Jade is also a highly anticipated character after her appearance as an NPC in previous versions. Besides, she will come out with a gold kit.

#1. Skill

Here are the main points about Jade's skill:

• Assign an ally as the Debt Collector and give them +30 SPD three times.
• When the Debt Collector attacks, their attack will deal additional Quantum DMG based on Jade's ATK status on all hit enemies, which costs 5% HP of the Debt Collector. If their HP is too low, their HP will decline to 1.
• If Jade is appointed as the Debt Collector, she won't get SPD buff, but her HP won't be eroded as well.
• When the Debt Collector takes over the battlefield, you cannot use Jade's skill.

#2. Ultimate

Jade has powerful ultimate skills that dealing tons of DMG if you know how to optimize them.

• Deal Quantum to all enemies based on Jade's ATK status.
• Buff two following attacks. It takes effect twice.

#3. Talents

• When Jade or the assigned Debt Collector attacks, Jade gets one Charge from each hit enemy.
• After she stacks and uses eight Charges and unleashes a follow-up attack, it will deal Quantum DMG to every enemy.
• Jade does not get Charged for that attack, but she will immediately get five Pawned Asset stacks. Each Pawned Asset stack buffs her Crit ATK by 3%.

#4. Technique

Check out Jade's technique kit to clear enemies.

• The enemies in the AoE of Jade's technique will suffer from the Blind Fealty effect in 10 seconds. Then, they won't attack your characters actively.
• When attacking an enemy inflicted with the Blind Fealty effect, all inflicted enemies will be forced to enter the battle. The ambushed targets will take Quantum DMG when the next battle starts. Jade will receive 15 Pawned Asset stacks.

Jade has a strong kit for attacking. Firefly's kit is also attractive and ideal for combat. Check out recently leaked details about her kit in the following part to know why both Firefly and Jade are worth pulling in Honkai Star Rail's next update.

II. Firefly's Leaked Kit

Firefly is a 5-Star Fire Destruction character. So, her normal attack will deal Fire DMG to one enemy. Her charged attack can heal 20% of her Max HP and deal Fire DMG to a target. Check other skills of Firefly below.

#1. Skill

Here are the latest leaks about Firefly's skills in combat.

• She consumes 50% HP to recover 50% of the Max Energy. It also deals Fire DMG to an enemy. If her HP is lower than 50%, her HP bar will be reduced to 1.
• Recover 35% of the Max HP. Mark the enemy with a Fire Weakness in two turns.

#2. Ultimate

Check out the ultimate kit of Firefly here:

• Consume 240 Energy to enter the Complete Combustion Phase when her speed is boosted. But she cannot use her Ultimate attack in this phase.
• In this phase, her action is advanced by 100%. Besides, her normal attacks and skills are buffed.
• The damage from her normal attacks and skills to the enemy with broken Weakness will be boosted, and the weakness-breaking efficiency is increased by 50% until the attack finishes.
• You can observe the countdown of the Complete Combustion Phase on the Action Bar in the top left corner of the screen.

#3. Talents

Reduce the damage taken by a max of 50% when HP falls below 20%. During the Completed Combustion Phase, Firefly receives an additional Effect Resistance.

#4. Technique

Let's learn about her technique and get well-prepared to use this character beautifully in Honkai 3.2.

• Firefly leaps into the air and hovers freely in 5 seconds. End this phase by unleashing a normal attack.
• When the hovering time ends, she plunges to attack enemies.
• She marks all enemies of the new waves with Fire Weakness which is active in two turns. Then, she deals Fire DMG to all marked enemies based on her ATK status.

Those are all about the leaked kits of Firefly And Jade. Though we haven't got patch 2.2, these two upcoming 5-star characters are still grabbing great attention from players. The miHoYo dev team is still developing and testing their kits to bring you the best characters.

>>> Also Read: BEST Genshin Team Comps For Arlecchino To Win Every Challenge

Xueyi, the newly introduced 4-star character in Honkai: Star Rail's version 1.6 update, presents a distinctive role as both a DPS and sub-DPS. Her standout ability lies in effectively leveraging diminishing toughness and Break Effect to her advantage, even when facing opponents not particularly vulnerable to the Quantum element. Moreover, she accumulates stacks that enable subsequent attacks, making her adaptable to various team compositions and paths within the Simulated Universe for players eager to explore new strategies.

Given the unique mechanics in her skill set, Xueyi's optimal build deviates slightly from the usual DPS characters as she emphasizes Break Effect. Nevertheless, there are still key elements that complement her performance. Here's the recommended build for players seeking to maximize Xueyi's capabilities.

Xueyi Best Build In Honkai: Star Rail

Xueyi review

Xueyi emerges as a versatile damage dealer, excelling in Toughness damage against foes resistant to Quantum elements. Her ability to manipulate Toughness Gauges and accumulate stacks for a potent follow-up attack amplifies her effectiveness, especially against Quantum-vulnerable enemies. Leveraging Break Effect, she gains substantial permanent damage boosts but is limited in team and scenario flexibility due to her reliance on Toughness damage.

Despite seemingly modest base damage, Xueyi's Bonus Ability Traces redefine her prowess. Her A2 links damage dealt directly to her Break Effect stat, offering a staggering bonus of up to 240%. This inherent damage boost, complemented by additional Break Effect, ensures consistent and substantial damage output, minimizing reliance on Quantum DMG Planar Spheres.

Strategically, Xueyi's A6 ensures stack retention even when overcapping, enhancing her sustained damage potential. She synergizes well with various support characters, benefiting from increased Action rates and Energy generation for more frequent Ultimates and follow-up attacks. Notable partners include Bronya, Tinyun, Asta, Hanya, Silver Wolf, Pela, and Ruan Mei, amplifying her Entanglement damage.

Augmentations via Eidolons further elevate her performance, enhancing follow-up damage, enabling Toughness damage regardless of type, boosting Break Effect post-Ultimate, and increasing follow-up attacks. Her potential as a primary or secondary damage dealer shines, emphasizing the importance of maximizing Toughness damage to optimize her efficiency.

Best Xueyi Light Cones In Honkai: Star Rail

Xueyi's unique reliance on Break Effect limits her compatibility with many high-tier Destruction light cones, particularly the exclusive 5-star options associated with specific Destruction characters. This opens up an F2P pathway for players to construct her build using more accessible alternatives. Currently, the top choice for her is On the Fall of an Aeon, easily obtainable and stackable via the Herta Store, serving as an exceptional F2P alternative. This cone not only bolsters ATK but also significantly boosts her damage upon Weakness Breaking, aligning perfectly with her distinctive toughness-based mechanics.

For players using this cone on other characters or yet to acquire it, considerations can be made for either Under the Blue Sky or The Moles Welcome You as 4-star options, mainly enhancing ATK as a stat boost. If Xueyi confronts a solitary enemy, Nowhere to Run can be considered; however, as a Destruction character, she generally thrives when engaging multiple foes. Additionally, Xueyi can effectively utilize certain 3-star options, especially when fully stacked, like Collapsing Sky or Shattered Home, to amplify specific aspects of her kit's damage or to inflict greater damage against enemies below certain HP thresholds.

Best Xueyi Relics In Honkai: Star Rail

Considering Xueyi's unique reliance on Break Effect, akin to Ruan Mei but with distinct functions, prioritizing Break Effect in her build is highly advisable. Players can opt for the Thief of Shooting Meteor set to boost her Break Effect, a more cost-effective choice if they've acquired it previously through Echoes of War or other content. Alternatively, the Genius of Brilliant Stars set proves more effective, offering DEF ignore and Quantum DMG bonuses, aligning well with Xueyi's mechanics.

As Break Effect can be easily obtained via sub-stats, main stats, or Planar Ornaments, players can streamline their optimization for the most effective build. Talia: Kingdom of Banditry ornaments serve as the best choice, emphasizing Break Effect and Speed to elevate Xueyi's overall damage output. For those unable to meet the 145 speed requirement or opting for the Thief of Shooting Meteor set, Space Sealing Station provides a viable alternative with a lower speed threshold, offering an ATK% boost beneficial for Xueyi.

When it comes to main and sub-stats, prioritizing Break Effect, Crit Values, and Speed is crucial. While her setup resembles that of other DPS characters, the primary distinction lies in the emphasis on Break Effect. Consequently, her set closely resembles typical builds, replacing ATK with Break Effect on Link Rope and focusing on sub-stats like Crit Rate/DMG and Speed, unlike characters such as Kafka, who don't benefit from Crit Values.

Xueyi Team Composition

Ruan Mei becomes an essential component of Xueyi's team, significantly bolstering Xueyi's gameplay. Offering a Break Effect stat boost, enhancing Weakness Break efficiency, and further stalling enemy actions (in addition to Quantum break's effects), Genius Society Member #81 elevates Xueyi's performance to new heights.

Given the focus of both Xueyi and Ruan Mei on Weakness Break, the inclusion of Silver Wolf, capable of inflicting weaknesses on any enemy, becomes a perfect addition. Subsequently, players should consider a healer or shielder wielding either the Quantum or Ice Element. This choice ensures that Silver Wolf applies only either Quantum or Ice weakness, facilitating continuous reduction of the enemy's Toughness by the team.

There are various options available, including Lynx, Gepard, March 7th, and Fu Xuan. Here's a breakdown of each character's contributions to the team:

• Lynx: Functions as a standard healer, providing healing through Skills and Ultimate abilities. Doesn't offer significant additional benefits to the team beyond healing.
• Fu Xuan: Acts as a defender, notably reducing team damage taken. Provides some buffs but isn't particularly relevant to this specific Xueyi team composition.
• Gepard: Offers shielding through the Ultimate and possesses a freezing ability via the Skill.
• March 7th: Provides shielding through the Skill and has a Talent that harmonizes well with Xueyi's Talent if March counters an enemy with Ice weakness. March's Ultimate targets all enemies, potentially triggering Weakness Break frequently, synergizing with Ruan Mei. The added Frozen effect provides an extra layer of team protection, and when her E6 is unlocked, she gains healing capabilities as well.

>>> Read more: Honkai: Star Rail Complete Ruan Mei Build Guide

Hanya debuts as the premier 4-star Physical Harmony character in Honkai: Star Rail, presenting an exclusive skill set that enhances her role within any team. While there might be other Harmony supports that excel in various aspects, it's challenging to dispute the overall potency of this Ten-Lords Commission adjudicator, Hanya.

Right from the start, players can harness substantial benefits from Hanya, and notably, her effectiveness isn't heavily reliant on specific statistics. This Honkai: Star Rail character guide encompasses an overview of Hanya, highlighting her optimal Relics and Light Cones, along with guidance on skill prioritization for leveling.

Best Hanya build in Star Rail

Hanya review

Hanya, the unique Ten Lords' envoy in Honkai: Star Rail, functions as a robust support character with a versatile skill set. She employs a debuff, Burden, on enemies, granting allies increased damage for 2 turns and restoring 1 Skill Point for every 2 actions against the debuffed enemy. The debuff remains until 2 Skill Points are extracted from the enemy. Her Ultimate significantly boosts ATK and provides a SPD increase based on her own SPD to a single target.

Her skill is the most important part of her kit. Attacking a debuffed enemy grants allies a substantial DMG% increase for 2 turns, accompanied by team SP recovery for every 2 attacks against the debuffed foe. Although this differs from traditional Harmony support mechanics, it enhances overall team breaking power. The SP recovery notably benefits units with high SP usage rates like Imbibitor Lunae or Qingque. Additionally, her Ultimate offers a significant ATK% boost and a SPD increase for two turns, reliant on Hanya's SPD, potentially aiding other support units like Asta.

Her Traces amplify her abilities further: A6 grants her 2 Energy on Skill-triggered SP recovery, A4 provides an extra Skill Point if the debuffed enemy dies after siphoning SP, and A2 offers allies triggering SP recovery a minor ATK% boost for 1 turn. Moreover, Eidolons enhance her performance, with E1 advancing her turn when a buffed ally defeats an enemy and E2 providing a 1-turn SPD boost.

Overall, Hanya stands out as an exceptional and consistent team player, excelling in SP generation and universal team buffing. While not essential for every team, her utility remains incredibly valuable, making her a strong addition, especially in compositions with multiple damage dealers.

Best relics for Hanya

Hanya's Talent boosts allies' ATK by a set percentage when they strike enemies tagged by her skill. Therefore, she ideally initiates battles to maximize damage potential. To attain necessary SPD thresholds without relying on perfectly optimized Relics, Messenger Traversing Hackerspace and Fleet of the Ageless assist Hanya.

For an overall advantageous choice benefiting all characters, Musketeer of Wild Wheat offers a slight SPD and Basic Attack damage boost within its complete set bonus. Players possessing a spare Wild Wheat set should allocate it to Hanya until acquiring satisfactory Hackerspace gear.

Best teammates for Hanya

As a support character, Hanya excels in diverse team setups, contributing to their success regardless of composition. However, she holds exceptional value for SP-dependent characters like Imbibitor Lunae, Huohuo, and Qingque.

• Imbibitor Lunae and Qingque benefit significantly from Hanya due to their high SP consumption rates. Her Burden debuff generates an extra Skill Point when the marked enemy is hit twice by separate Basic Attacks, Skills, or Ultimates, easing their SP usage.
• This approach extends to other characters reliant on frequent ability usage, such as Seele, who quickly depletes team SP with her continuous Talent chaining.
• Fu Xuan acts as an efficient tank for SP-centric teams, utilizing minimal SP for substantial defensive benefits, allowing more SP to be allocated to damaging abilities.

Teams optimized for Hanya's strengths include combinations like Seele + Bronya + Hanya + Fu Xuan, Imbibitor Lunae + Hanya + Silver Wolf + Luocha, and Argenti + Huohuo + Hanya + Tingyun.

Despite her prowess in SP generation, Hanya's Ultimate boosts allies' SPD and ATK, while her Talent ensures 30% increased damage on enemies marked by Burden, unaffected by diminishing returns on stacked ATK buffs.

However, note that Hanya's fragility compared to other supports necessitates a strong healer on the team to maintain her HP. Aside from Fu Xuan, Gepard serves as a reliable option for Hanya's protection.

Light Cones for Hanya

1. Meshing Cogs (S5): The prime energy recharge option for Hanya. Boosts energy with each of her non-Ultimate actions and when she's hit, ensuring a 3-action rotation most of the time. Ideal for Basic/Skill rotations.
2. Memories of the Past (S5): Similar to Meshing Cogs but lacks the energy boost when hit, leading to less consistent rotations. Offers higher base stats and Break Effect, enhancing survivability and damage potential. Needs to be S5 for similar energy recharge to Cogs.
3. Planetary Rendezvous (S1): Trades energy recharge for a substantial Phys DMG% increase, valuable when Hanya's Eidolons are unlocked, extending Ultimate duration and frequency.
4. Dance! Dance! Dance! (S1): Situational yet potent, sacrificing energy recharge for a forward advance during Hanya's Ultimate. Effective when reaching the Ultimate within 3 actions, granting more team actions in challenging fights.
5. Carve the Moon, Weave the Clouds (S1): A less potent alternative to Planetary Rendezvous, suitable when Hanya supports a non-physical damage character. Less specialized and more random in its effects.

Hanya Skill and Trace Priorities

Prioritize leveling Hanya's Ultimate and Talent as they offer significant team buffs. Her Signature Skill, despite its importance, can remain at level 1 since its SP generation doesn't scale.

Hanya's Skill applies Burden to enemies, boosting allies' attack damage against afflicted foes by up to 30% based on her Talent level. Further ATK enhancements can occur if allies are under Hanya's Ultimate buff.

For the rest of her kit, acquiring her major Ascension Traces promptly is crucial. These traces provide additional ATK buffs, improved SP generation, and enhanced energy regeneration. Concentrate on acquiring SPD-related minor Traces initially.

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In the version 1.6 update of Honkai: Star Rail, Ruan Mei debuts as a highly anticipated character integral to the Simulated Universe storyline within the Genius Society. Her role as a support unit is pivotal, offering party-wide enhancements through her Skills and Ultimate abilities. These enhancements encompass boosted damage, an exclusive Weakness Break Efficiency increase, and additional advantages like impeding enemies' actions and granting Elemental RES PEN to allies.

Remarkably, Ruan Mei stands out among characters due to her significant reliance on the Break Effect. While certain stats are optimal, players need not obsessively fine-tune numerous attributes. For those who have collected specific gear sets, they might already possess pieces well-suited for her. Below is guidance on optimizing Ruan Mei's build to amplify her utility.

Ruan Mei Review

In Honkai: Star Rail, Ruan Mei stands out as a top-tier support character, offering unparalleled team buffs and Break Efficiency boosts. Her Skill enhances team DMG and Break Efficiency by 50%, a feat unmatched by any other character. Additionally, her Ultimate bestows a 25% All-Type RES PEN to allies and extends enemy Weakness Break, accompanied by a 120% Ice Break DMG hit. She also permanently elevates all allies' SPD by 10% and deals Ice Break DMG whenever an ally triggers a Break.

Ruan Mei's synergy with Break Effect is exceptional, amplifying team damage during enemy vulnerabilities. Her Talent escalates her Skill's DMG bonus by up to 36% based on Break Effect, potentially reaching a whopping 68% bonus alongside her already potent 50% Break Efficiency. Achieving such a high Break Effect level demands significant investment but positions her among top-tier supports like Bronya and Tingyun.

Her Eidolon capabilities are excessive, offering additional benefits during the Ultimate, albeit considered excessive in most scenarios.

While Ruan Mei doesn't surpass Bronya, her effortless maintenance of buffs places her in close contention. The RES PEN significantly boosts allies' attacks, particularly useful against mismatched elements. Her buffs synergize well with other Harmony supports, stacking without affecting ATK, allowing for various powerful combinations. Pairing her with different characters can create formidable setups, potentially establishing new meta strategies.

Ruan Mei excels in enabling double carry compositions, outshining others with her effortless team-wide buffs, making it easier to maintain multiple strong damage dealers during fights. Her role in teams like Kafka DoT and Topaz follow-up teams drastically improves their performance.

Usually considered a 'non-negligible' contributor to damage, Ruan Mei's mere presence and investment can cause smaller enemies to explode, offering defensive advantages by swiftly breaking enemies and extending their vulnerability.

However, her pinnacle performance demands an immense investment, notably achieving a 180% Break Effect, which can compromise defensive stats and options. Despite this, her Light Cone options remain subpar.

The focus on Break in Ruan Mei's and Xueyi's kits hints at potential shifts in strength and strategies. It's advisable to monitor Ruan Mei's evolution over time. Nevertheless, Ruan Mei is undeniably a powerhouse among Harmony units, making her a highly coveted addition to any team in Honkai: Star Rail.

Best Ruan Mei Relics

Considering Ruan Mei's reliance on Break Effect, Speed, and consistent Energy Regeneration for her frequent Ultimate, players should concentrate on selecting Relic and Planar Ornament sets that cater to these needs. The choice between sets hinges on substats and light cones, pivotal for optimizing her performance. For example, struggling to attain high Break Effect might prompt the use of Thief of Shooting Meteor or Talia: Kingdom of Banditry sets to ensure the desired Break Effect. Alternatively, a blend of Thief of Shooting Meteor and Messenger Traversing Hackerspace enhances Break Effect and Speed simultaneously.

Regarding Planar Ornaments, Penacony Land of Dreams and Sprightly Vonwacq both enhance energy regeneration. However, their conditional effects may not align with every team composition, especially Penacony Land of Dreams, ideal for Ice character-oriented teams like those featuring Jingliu or Yanqing. This ornament shines brightest when paired with these characters; otherwise, its utility might diminish. Nonetheless, both ornaments facilitate a slightly faster Ultimate charge compared to Talia: Kingdom of Banditry.

For main stats, equipping Ruan Mei with an Energy Regeneration Link Rope is crucial for maintaining her 3-turn Ultimate. Speed boots are highly beneficial. As for Body and Planar Sphere, players can prioritize either DEF or HP% stats based on availability and suitable substats. Defensive stats take precedence over offensive ones to sustain her as a support without being easily overwhelmed.

In terms of sub-stats, focusing on Break Effect, SPD, HP%, and DEF% is vital. Notably, Crit stats hold no bearing on her damage output as it's solely tied to Weakness Break.

Best Ruan Mei Light Cones

Ruan Mei offers several light cone options, although players might notice a more limited selection compared to other paths. This is because no new additions have been made to the Harmony light cone list since the game's launch, except for Ruan Mei's recently added signature light cone.

The signature light cone, "Past Self in Mirror," stands out with its substantial Break Effect boost, Skill Point generation with each Ultimate use (unlike "But the Battle Isn't Over," which provides this once every 2 Ultimate uses), and an ally-wide damage increase. It also grants 10 Energy to allies per wave, beneficial in multi-wave content like Calyx or Forgotten Hall.

"Memories of the Past," a 4-star option, is a strong choice after her signature light cone, especially when max refined. It mirrors "Past Self in Mirror's" Break Effect increase at Refinement 5 and regenerates Energy each time Ruan Mei attacks, limited to once per turn.

"But the Battle Isn't Over enhances Energy Regeneration for Ruan Mei's consistent Ultimates. It grants a Skill Point every 2 Ultimates and boosts the damage of the ally acting after her, proving advantageous if players can manipulate action order effectively.

"Dance! Dance! Dance!" advances all allies' actions each time Ruan Mei uses her Ultimate. Paired with her talent's speed boost for allies (except herself), this allows multiple actions in a turn, advantageous for challenging end-game content, hastening battles.

"Carve the Moon, Weave the Clouds" offers added benefits like ATK, Crit DMG, or Energy Regeneration to teammates, although Ruan Mei herself benefits solely from Energy Regeneration. Many DPS characters can utilize these stats effectively, but the random effect may cause consistency fluctuations between turns.

"Meshing Cogs," a 3-star option, aids Ruan Mei in generating more energy per turn when she attacks or gets hit, making it a worthy choice.

>>> Read more: Honkai: Star Rail Complete Argenti Build Guide

In Honkai: Star Rail, having diverse elemental characters is valuable for exploiting enemy weaknesses and maximizing damage. While there are no specific interactions between elements, exploiting weaknesses matters. The game emphasizes team strategy through weakness break mechanics.

Argenti, a limited-time 5-star Physical Erudition character, stands out among the substantial DPS character lineup. For players lacking a Phys DPS character like Clara, Argenti could be a beneficial addition due to his unique abilities, especially his Ultimate move, which suits team-focused playstyles. However, fully utilizing Argenti's potential depends on proper character development and synergy within the team.

Best Argenti build in Star Rail

Argenti review

Best relics for Argenti

Argenti, a straightforward DPS character relying on ATK for damage, aligns with common DPS builds, especially concerning sub-stats. The preferred relic set for him is the Champion of Streetwise Boxing, amplifying his Physical DMG and providing up to a 25% ATK boost as stacks accumulate from attacking or taking hits. This straightforward condition makes the set highly beneficial for Argenti. For players without access to this relic or uninterested in further farming, combining it with Musketeer of Wild Wheat is an option.

However, since Argenti's primary damage output stems from his Enhanced Ultimate fueled by more Energy usage, the Inert Salsotto set proves most effective. This planar ornament set bolsters Crit Rate, synergizing with Argenti's ability to enhance his own Crit Rate. Reaching a manageable 50% Crit Rate significantly amplifies his Ultimate's damage. Alternatively, a Speed-focused Argenti might benefit from the Firmament Frontline Glamoth set, boosting overall damage and ATK%. Optimizing this set involves sacrificing ATK% boots for Speed boots, demanding a balance in Argenti's stats, particularly ATK and Crit values. Given that Argenti's ascension traces often prioritize ATK, prioritizing Crit values through substats over ATK and Speed is advisable, along with equipping a Crit DMG or Crit Rate piece for the Body.

Interestingly, while main stats generally follow the standard for Argenti and similar DPS characters, choosing an Energy Regeneration Rate piece for the Link Rope is highly recommended. This choice aids in speeding up his energy gain, complementing his innate talent for energy regeneration.

Best teammates for Argenti

Argenti, this Knight of Beauty, shines in his simplicity, which might just be his greatest strength. Unlike other characters needing stacks, Skill Points, or primed enemies, Argenti simply gets the job done—it just works™. While some might find this straightforwardness limiting, especially in team compositions, its inherent value becomes clear over time.

Pairing him with units that alleviate his high Ultimate cost, like Tingyun and Huohuo, proves beneficial. Characters enabling Argenti to take more actions, such as Asta, Bronya, and Hanya, indirectly reduce the Ultimate's cost by leveraging his Energy-restoring Talent, significantly boosting his total damage. Due to Argenti's simplicity, team setups become flexible, allowing for various combinations that can work effectively.

Light Cones for Argenti

In a turn based game like Honkai Star Rail, it's super important to pick a team that works well together. There are lots of characters, each with their own skills and strengths, so putting together a great team takes careful thinking. Knowing what each character is good at is a big deal; some are great at hurting enemies, while others help out friends or make things tough for opponents. These characters have jobs like causing damage, healing, protecting, and doing other helpful stuff.

Making a strong team means picking characters whose powers work well together, like using special abilities that make each other stronger, especially ones that match elements. Elements matter a lot too—knowing what enemies are weak against helps break their defenses in tough fights. Everyone wants those rare 5-star characters because they're thought to be the best, but some 4-star ones can actually be just as good or even better in certain situations. So, players often wonder which 5-star characters are worth focusing on to make them as strong as possible. But figuring that out can be really hard because each character has their own unique job.

1. Luocha

Luocha is currently seen as the top 5-star character in Honkai: Star Rail because of his incredible healing powers. This mysterious character stands out thanks to a special ability that makes his healing super reliable and easy compared to others in the game. Both Luocha's Skill and Ultimate moves let him build up Abyss Flower stacks. These stacks create a healing zone that restores everyone's health whenever they attack an enemy while the zone is active.

On top of that, Luocha's Skill can clear away negative effects from a chosen team member. This skill is super helpful in tough parts of the game where these bad effects can really mess things up. Also, Luocha automatically uses his Skill when a teammate's health gets below 50%. This helps manage skill points so players can focus on other characters' moves. Plus, Luocha's Ultimate can wipe out enemy buffs in a wide area. With all these things going for him, Luocha's expected to stay important even as new healer characters get added in future updates.

​2. Silver Wolf

Silver Wolf is seen as a top-notch support character in Honkai: Star Rail mainly because she's super adaptable and can fit in with any team setup. Instead of just boosting characters' stats, she focuses on lowering the opponent's defense, which helps the whole team deal more damage. This ability can be more useful than just raising stats, especially when facing enemies with strong defenses.

But what really makes Silver Wolf shine is her power to expose an enemy's weakness. This special skill lets her make different team setups work well even if they're not naturally strong against certain elements. This makes her a really valuable character, especially for players who don't spend money, since she doesn't need specific teammates or rare items from the game's Gacha system. She stays important and ready for whatever comes next, unless a new character with a similar ability to exploit weaknesses shows up in the game.

3. Bronya

In the game's beginning, Bronya's real usefulness might not stand out much, especially when players are prioritizing defensive support characters. But as players start forming teams with their favorite damage-dealing characters, they'll realize just how useful Bronya can be. She's a flexible character who can make the team take turns faster and give important buffs like ATK and Crit boosts. That's why she's considered one of the most wanted 5-star characters in the standard banner right now.

4. Huohuo

As the second limited Abundance character introduced, Huohuo emerges as a fantastic choice, especially for players without access to characters like Luocha or Fu Xuan. She notably boosts the team's ability to survive by delivering substantial healing through her skill and ongoing healing from her talent. Beyond her healing prowess, Huohuo brings valuable versatility to the team, reminiscent of certain Harmony characters.

Her skill not only clears debuffs from all allies but also amps up their ATK, and her Ultimate supplies energy to allies. This versatility positions her as a flexible option, potentially substituting for a Harmony character like Tingyun, especially in teams that heavily rely on using Ultimate moves. While Huohuo can outdo Luocha as the top healer in teams that emphasize steady healing and efficient skill point use, some players might still prefer Luocha for those specific attributes.

5. Tingyun

Tingyun stands out as possibly the top 4-star character in Honkai: Star Rail. Her skill to enhance an ally affected by her Benediction buff is similar to abilities seen in 5-star units. Through her Ultimate move, Tingyun can act as a power source, massively boosting the damage of one of her allies for two turns. Pairing Tingyun with any damage dealer is a huge advantage, as she enables them to excel and unleash impressive numbers.

6. Pela

Pela brings a distinctive set of abilities to Honkai: Star Rail. She stands out among the few characters capable of breaking down enemies' defenses and removing their buffs. Additionally, she's able to further weaken enemies' resistance to Ice, making her a crucial Support choice when using an Ice-based damage dealer.

7. Asta

In Honkai: Star Rail, Harmony characters play a support role, influencing battle dynamics with their buffs and helpful abilities. For instance, a character like Asta can transform her allies into swift combatants, enabling them to act more often and inflict greater damage with the ATK% boosts she provides.

Moreover, Asta serves as a dependable opponent for enemies weak against Fire, thanks to the numerous attacks her Skill can unleash, especially in her E1 form.

8. Lynx

Lynx, an Abundance character, brings more than just healing to her team. Alongside her Skill, Talent, Technique, and Ultimate healing abilities, Lynx possesses the unique capability to cleanse her entire team with her Ultimate, a rare skill since most characters can only cleanse one ally at a time.

Moreover, when Lynx uses her Skill on a Destruction or Preservation character, she enhances their likelihood of being targeted by enemies. This feature can be immensely helpful in safeguarding the team and ensuring specific units absorb the hits. It can even be manipulated to trigger follow-up attacks, such as Blade's, more frequently, particularly benefiting characters like Blade who thrive when their HP decreases.

>>> Read more: Honkai: Star Rail Complete Huohuo Build Guide

Elements wield significant influence within Honkai: Star Rail’s combat mechanics, impacting how enemies respond to specific elemental damage. Some adversaries possess higher resistance (RES) against certain attributes, while others vulnerable to an element display zero resistance to it. Moreover, breaking a weakness in an enemy is only feasible if they are susceptible to that specific Element. Hence, team composition involving the right attributes holds immense importance in the game.

This necessity for diverse elemental units in Honkai: Star Rail becomes evident. Initially, upon the game's launch, Natasha and Bailu were the sole healing characters, representing the Physical and Lightning Elements respectively. However, the introduction of Huohuo in version 1.5 as the first Abundance unit with the Wind Element exemplifies the importance of diversifying elemental units. Here's a guide on how Trailblazers can build Huohuo in Honkai: Star Rail.

Best Huohuo Build In Honkai: Star Rail

Huohuo Character Review

Huohuo merges potent Abundance-based healing with supportive Harmony abilities. Through her Ultimate, she can replenish 20% of maximum Energy for all allies and bolster their ATK by 40% for 2 turns. Her default AoE healing Skill and Talent offer substantial passive healing, reminiscent of Luocha, while also cleansing allies at the start of their turn or upon using an Ultimate. To sustain her Talent, Huohuo utilizes SP, making her not entirely SP-positive like Luocha, yet she easily maintains SP neutrality.

Despite her timid nature as the trainee Ten-Lords Judge, Huohuo stands as a surprising asset within the Path of Abundance. Despite her fearful disposition, she excels in maintaining party sustainability and brings unique benefits that make her a potentially desirable addition.

Huohuo's Skill targets a single ally, restoring their HP by up to 21% of Huohuo’s Max HP plus 560, while adjacent allies receive a heal of up to 16.8% of Huohuo’s Max HP plus 448. As Huohuo's healing is HP-dependent, this results in a substantial upfront healing amount, including a debuff dispel for the main ally.

Her Skill is pivotal as it intertwines with her verbose yet powerful Talent. After using her Skill, Huohuo gains Divine Provision for 2 turns, enabling passive healing for allies at the start of their turn or when they utilize their Ultimate, restoring up to 4.5% of Huohuo’s Max HP plus 120. This healing also purges a debuff from the healed ally and extends to other allies below 50% Max HP, functioning as an effective emergency healing mechanism.

The remarkable continuous healing output tied to Huohuo's Skill refreshment for her Talent rivals Luocha's Abyss Flower in terms of total healing. Additionally, Huohuo's proficiency in free debuff cleansing is remarkable, addressing subtle yet perilous debuffs like Damage over Time (DoT) or DEF Reduction. While other Abundance characters may struggle with these debuffs at end-game levels, Huohuo mitigates them effectively, creating a battle strategy centered on attrition, challenging only Luocha's consistent healing capabilities within the Abundance group. Huohuo nearly matches this healing prowess while offering frequent debuff dispels at minimal additional cost, albeit with stricter activation criteria tied to turns or Ultimate usage rather than dealing damage.

Best Huohuo Relics In Honkai: Star Rail

As a healer in Honkai: Star Rail whose restorative abilities scale with her HP, it’s crucial to focus on boosting Huohuo's HP% to enhance her healing capacity, alongside increasing her Outgoing Healing Bonus stat. However, given her role as a significant energy source for the team, augmenting her SPD to optimize her actions becomes equally essential.

For optimal Relic choices, the 4-piece set of Messenger Traversing Hackerspace stands out, granting a 6% SPD boost and 12% enhancement for the team's SPD upon Huohuo casting her Ultimate. Alternatively, players who haven’t acquired this Relic yet can opt for the classic 4-piece Passerby of Wandering Cloud set, maximizing Huohuo's healing potential and contributing a valuable Skill Point to the team at the beginning of battles.

Players might also consider a compromise by mixing two sets of Relics, combining 2 pieces each of Messenger Traversing Hackerspace, Longevous Disciple, or Passerby of Wandering Cloud. While not the most optimal, this amalgamation provides a blend of 6% SPD, 12% HP, or 10% Outgoing Healing, serving Huohuo adequately when her ideal Relic set isn’t available.

When venturing into the Planar Ornaments area, Broken Keel emerges as the top choice for Huohuo, offering a 10% boost to Crit DMG for the entire team and bolstering Huohuo’s Effect RES, further fortifying her defense against debuffs. Fleet of the Ageless presents another viable option, providing Huohuo with 12% HP and granting her allies an 8% ATK increase. Additionally, if players utilize another Wind character alongside Huohuo in Honkai: Star Rail, employing the Penacony Land of the Dreams set benefits Huohuo's support role by offering an additional 10% DMG to that character along with a 5% Energy Regeneration Rate boost.

Best Huohuo Light Cones In Honkai: Star Rail

The ideal Light Cones selection for Huohuo in Honkai: Star Rail should accentuate her role as an Abundance unit specializing in support. Here are the top Light Cones that align with this objective:

1. Night of Fright: Boasts high base HP and provides Huohuo with Energy Regeneration Rate. Additionally, it enables passive healing for allies and enhances their ATK%.
2. Quid Pro Quo: Features a respectable amount of Base HP and allows Huohuo to actively replenish her team's Energy at the beginning of each of her turns.
3. Shared Feeling: At S5 level, Shared Feeling empowers Huohuo to continually regenerate her team's Energy while amplifying her Outgoing Healing.
4. Post-Op Conversation: Vital for Huohuo to swiftly recharge her Ultimate, fulfilling this need effectively.
5. Warmth Shortens Cold Nights: Significantly boosts Huohuo’s HP and provides ongoing small-scale healing for the entire party.
6. Perfect Timing: Augments Effect RES and adds Outgoing Healing based on her Effect RES.
7. Hey, Over Here: Increases Huohuo’s HP and Outgoing Healing capabilities.
8. Fine Fruit: Maintains considerable Base HP while granting Huohuo the ability to instantly boost the team’s Energy at the commencement of each battle.

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Guinaifen, the most recent 4-star addition to Honkai: Star Rail, belongs to the Fire Nihility category. She excels in inflicting Burn DoT while boosting her damage against foes affected by Burn. Although her gameplay is akin to characters like Sampo or Kafka, there are specific nuances crucial for optimizing her role within a team.

It's essential to recognize that, in Honkai: Star Rail, Nihility characters typically emphasize either DoT-style gameplay or debuffing enemies to aid the team. Consequently, not every light cone or relic is suitable for Guinaifen. Considering this distinction, here are the optimal builds to unleash Guinaifen's full potential in Honkai: Star Rail.

Guinaifen Best Build In Star Rail

Guinaifen Best Relics In Star Rail

Guinaifen is a character with the potential to serve as both a sub-DPS and main-DPS. When choosing relic sets to amplify her damage output, it's crucial to opt for sets that enhance her damage potential. Due to her reliance on ATK% and Fire damage scaling, the optimal relic set for Guinaifen is the Firesmith of Laval-Forging, specifically the 4-piece set bonus. This set offers a Fire Damage increase (2-piece bonus) and a substantial damage boost from her Skill (4-piece bonus). Given Guinaifen's frequent use of her Ultimate, she also benefits from the 4-piece set bonus effect, which enhances her Fire DMG for the subsequent attack after utilizing her Ultimate.

Players who do not possess the perfect components for a 4-piece bonus can combine 2-piece effects from the Firesmith of Laval-Forging with those from the Musketeer or Wild Wheat sets. Furthermore, for her Planar Ornament, the Space Sealing Station stands out as the top choice to further boost her attack. Guinaifen benefits from some speed in her setup, allowing her to achieve the 120 Speed threshold required to activate the conditional ATK buff granted by this ornament.

When selecting the primary attributes for Guinaifen's relics, players should prioritize Speed on her Feet relic, ATK% on her Body relic, Energy Recharge on the Link Rope relic, and Fire DMG on the Planar Sphere relic. However, if specific pieces are missing or there are constraints, ATK% can be used as a substitute for some of these slots. In terms of sub-stats, focus on attributes like ATK%, Speed, and Energy Recharge. These are vital for enhancing Guinaifen's damage output and ensuring she can utilize her abilities more frequently. Additionally, having sub-stats such as Crit Rate and Crit DMG can be advantageous, even though her DoT damage typically does not crit. Guinaifen can still benefit from these stats to some degree, especially when dealing direct damage.

Guinaifen Best Light Cones In Star Rail

Guinaifen performs exceptionally with light cones that amplify her overall damage and her Damage over Time (DoT) effects, a crucial aspect of her abilities. The most suitable light cone for Guinaifen is Kafka's unique light cone, "Patience Is All You Need," which separately boosts her damage, speed, and DoT damage. This light cone significantly enhances her abilities and is an optimal choice for maximizing her potential. The second-best alternative is "Solitary Healing," a free-to-play option accessible through the Herta Store. This light cone can be easily maximized and offers advantages like increased Break Effect, Energy Regeneration, and enhanced DoT damage. It's a reliable option for Guinaifen, particularly for players focusing on Break Effect and seeking dependable energy regeneration.

For a 4-star light cone, "Good Night And Sleep Well" is an excellent selection. It synergizes effectively when Guinaifen is teamed up with other characters capable of inflicting debuffs or DoT effects on enemies. Therefore, if players plan to pair Guinaifen with characters like Kafka, this light cone can bring significant value to the team.

Honkai: Star Rail – Guinaifen Team Composition

Guinaifen + Kafka + Asta + Luocha

The most straightforward choice for teaming up a Damage over Time (DoT) character like Guinaifen in Honkai: Star Rail would be to pair her with the DoT expert, Kafka. Both Guinaifen and Kafka have the ability to inflict their own DoT effects, and with Asta's support, their damage output significantly increases. However, the team can be demanding in terms of Skill Points (SP), and players may find it challenging to accommodate a healer/shielder that consumes too much SP. This is where a character like Luocha proves to be invaluable for teams requiring high Skill Points.

When compared to Sampo and Luka, Guinaifen performs admirably in terms of damage, so the choice ultimately depends on the specific needs of the team. Besides the obvious elemental factors, players should consider the following aspects when selecting one of the three Nihility characters in Honkai: Star Rail:

• Guinaifen: Boasts an excellent Area of Effect (AoE) ability and a consistent AoE weakness break, although not as optimal against single-target foes. Can amplify enemy damage through her Talent, requiring fewer SP.
• Sampo: Relies on RNG (Random Number Generator) for AoE Skill but excels in breaking single-target weaknesses. Can amplify enemy damage through his Ultimate, although he demands the highest Skill Points among the three.
• Luka: Offers the best performance for single-target damage but falls short in AoE situations. Can amplify enemy damage through his Ultimate and trigger Bleed with Basic Attacks, making him the least demanding in terms of Skill Points.

Players who do not have Kafka in their lineup need not be concerned. They can substitute her with Hook or Himeko to form a team focused on Burn effects exclusively. In the future, if a Fire healer is introduced, players can consider replacing one of the Fire characters or Silver Wolf to create a mono-Fire team.

>>> Read more: Honkai: Star Rail Topaz & Numby Complete Build Guide

Topaz & Numby form a duo in Honkai: Star Rail, following the Path of the Hunt and harnessing the power of Fire Element. Numby, Topaz’s loyal trotter companion, takes center stage in battles, dealing the majority of the damage.

Similar to Jing Yuan’s Lightning Lord, Numby possesses its own speed (SPD) and attacks automatically. Additionally, the trotter strikes alongside Topaz when she employs her Skill. Topaz’s Ultimate ability, on the other hand, focuses on boosting Numby's damage output without inflicting any damage itself. Given the pair's distinctive gameplay style, it can be quite challenging to pinpoint the ideal build for Topaz & Numby in Honkai: Star Rail.

Topaz & Numby Best Build

Topaz & Numby Trace Priority

In Honkai: Star Rail, the priority order for Topaz & Numby Trace is as follows:

1. Skill
2. Talent = Ultimate
3. Basic Attack

Skill holds the highest priority because it applies the Proof of Debt debuff, making enemies more vulnerable to subsequent hits. This effect benefits not only Topaz but also other units reliant on follow-up attacks, making it the most crucial aspect of their strategy.

Topaz & Numby Best Relics

Given that the primary source of Topaz's damage originates from Numby's subsequent attacks, the 4-piece Firesmith of Lava-Forging set might not be the optimal choice for her. Alternative sets such as the 2-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat and 4-piece Champion of Streetwise Boxing, which offer versatile and consistent bonuses, are excellent options. The disparity between these three choices is relatively minor, allowing players to choose the set with the best stats for their needs.

For Topaz's Planar Ornament, Inert Salsotto stands out due to its critical rate increase and enhanced follow-up attack damage. However, if players lack these specific pieces, Space Sealing Station can serve as a viable alternative.

Considering that Numby deals significantly higher damage for the subsequent two hits after Topaz activates her Ultimate, opting for an Energy Regeneration rope instead of ATK can be a wise decision.

Topaz & Numby Best Light Cones

Many Lightcones designed for Hunt characters in Honkai: Star Rail provide boosts to Skill or Basic Attack damage, but these bonuses are not particularly suited for Topaz. Aside from her specific weapon, Worrisome Blissful, players can consider using alternatives like the Simulated-Universe Cruising in the Stellar Sea, the free-to-play River Flows in Spring, the Battle Pass-exclusive Return to Darkness, the 3-star weapon Darting Arrow, or gacha Lightcones such as Swordplay, Only Silence Remains, and In the Night.

Worrisome, Blissful

Worrisome, Blissful isn't just a great weapon for Topaz in Honkai: Star Rail; it also enhances damage for subsequent attackers. This boost significantly amplifies the damage output of characters like Clara. Moreover, Clara's synergy with Numby is exceptional, making this Light Cone the top choice for the IPC lady.

Cruising in the Stellar Sea

The effectiveness of Cruising in the Stellar Sea relies on the passive skill being available, but overall, this Light Cone stands out as one of the top weapons for Topaz in Honkai: Star Rail.

Swordplay

Swordplay is exceptionally good because Numby's multi-hit feature adds one stack for each hit, allowing her to quickly reach the weapon's maximum stacks in a single attack.

Best Topaz & Numby Team Compositions

Topaz + Clara + March 7th + Natasha

The collaboration between Clara and March 7th, functioning as a tandem for follow-up attacks, is remarkably effective. By ensuring March 7th uses her skill on Clara and Clara is frequently hit, these two characters can consistently trigger each other's follow-up attacks. With this duo forming the team's core, the remaining slots can be occupied by characters who benefit significantly from Topaz's follow-up attack boost, enabling the team to inflict substantial damage.

Additionally, this team composition is notably accessible for free-to-play (F2P) players since it does not include any limited-banner characters aside from Topaz herself. March 7th and Natasha are provided to players as part of their Trailblazer journey, making this team setup both powerful and easily attainable for a wide range of players.

Topaz + Qingque + Silver Wolf + Fu Xuan

A compelling team setup that explores novel synergies involves pairing Topaz with Qingque as the primary damage dealer, with a focus on the Quantum element. To maximize this composition's effectiveness, players must unlock Qingque's sixth Eidolon, enabling her to launch follow-up attacks and benefit from Topaz's enhancements.

The other two characters in this lineup are Fu Xuan and Silver Wolf. Although neither Fu Xuan nor Silver Wolf directly benefit from follow-up attacks, they both provide valuable support to Topaz and Qingque. Fu Xuan's pivotal role involves maintaining the team's high HP and offering a Critical Rate boost. Meanwhile, Silver Wolf can apply Quantum or Fire weakness to enemies, reducing their DEF and enhancing the team's damage output. If enemies already possess Fire and/or Quantum weakness, players have the flexibility to substitute Silver Wolf with Pela or Bronya based on the team's requirements.

Topaz + Kafka + Asta + Bailu

Similar to Topaz, Kafka is a versatile character capable of serving as both the primary damage dealer (DPS) and secondary damage dealer (sub-DPS), depending on the team composition. Unlike Himeko, Kafka can consistently activate her follow-up attacks, especially when both Topaz and Kafka target the same enemy. Consequently, players can anticipate follow-up attacks from both Topaz and Kafka every turn. To optimize this arrangement, employing Asta once again is recommended. Asta's Speed buff allows for multiple follow-up attacks per turn, particularly when characters are built with high Speed stats.

The final slot in this team composition offers flexibility, enabling players to select any defensive support option available to them. However, for players interested in creating a dual-element team composition, Bailu can be a viable choice, even though she may not necessarily synergize perfectly with the utility provided by the rest of the team.

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Jingliu stands out as the first 5-star Ice Destruction character in Honkai: Star Rail. Functioning as a potent DPS unit, she delivers exceptional damage across various combat scenarios when properly supported. She effortlessly tackles the game's toughest challenges, although players must heavily invest in her to unlock her full potential.

For gamers seeking a powerful AoE Ice damage dealer in Honkai: Star Rail, Jingliu is the answer. However, her true brilliance emerges only when equipped with the finest Light Cones and Relic sets available in the game. Discover how to optimize her setup for unparalleled power.

Jingliu Best Build in Honkai: Star Rail

Jingliu offers a multitude of choices in terms of ideal Light Cones and Relic sets, and her stats require a specific configuration for optimal performance. Here, we'll dissect each section to explain the rationale behind these selections.

Jingliu Light Cones

"I Shall Be On My Own Sword" unquestionably stands as the top choice among all available Light Cones for Jingliu. It boosts her CRIT DMG and ATK, along with periodically providing a percentage-based DEF Ignore for a single attack. This combination significantly amplifies Jingliu's damage output in a way that surpasses any other Light Cone.

Following closely is "On The Fall of An Aeon," which greatly enhances Jingliu's ATK stat. Moreover, it is conveniently obtainable from Herta's Simulated Universe store, making it easily accessible to reach S5.

The remaining three Light Cones are valuable due to their direct damage bonuses. "Brighter Than The Sun," the signature Light Cone of Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, enables players to stack more CRIT DMG on Jingliu's Relic set. This option proves beneficial for players who have yet to acquire the ideal Relics, offering a solid choice in the interim.

Best Jingliu Relics and Stat Priorities

The top two Relic sets for Jingliu are Hunter of Glacial Frost and Genius of Brilliant Stars. The former boosts CRIT DMG for two turns after using the ultimate ability, whereas the latter allows the wearer to ignore up to 20% of a target's DEF. Considering Jingliu can enhance her ATK through her Talent, sets like Wild Wheat become less valuable.

In terms of Relic stats, it's advisable to aim for up to 50% CRIT Rate on a fully upgraded Jingliu, as her Talent provides an additional 50% CRIT Rate when active. Once this balance is achieved, prioritize building 134 SPD and maximizing CRIT DMG, with a few enhancements to ATK. Players working towards a level 10 Talent on Jingliu should target around 60% CRIT Rate.

Although reaching 100% CRIT Rate isn't mandatory, it is recommended. Players can experiment with their crit ratios until they attain satisfactory damage output.

Jingliu Trace Priorities

When enhancing Jingliu's Traces, prioritize leveling up her Skill initially as it serves as her primary source of damage. Players will get the best returns on their investment by focusing on this aspect first. Subsequently, concentrate on upgrading her Ultimate ability before investing in her Talent and Basic Attack.

Jingliu's Talent, Crescent Transmigration, provides a 40% CRIT Rate at level 1, increasing by 1% per level. Generally, spending resources on gaining an additional point of CRIT Rate and extra damage based on Jingliu's base ATK isn't the most efficient use of materials and money. Instead, it's more worthwhile to allocate resources towards unlocking her CRIT DMG nodes and her three significant Traces.

Jingliu teams and synergy

Bronya

Best Support for Jingliu thanks to her massive damage boosts but mostly because of her Speed modification capabilities. Due to Jingliu not consuming many skill points her main cost is almost completely mitigated.

Pela

Pela serves as an exceptional support for Jingliu, particularly at E4 level. Pela provides a substantial AoE DEF% Shred, similar to Silver Wolf, which synergizes well with the Quantum 4-piece set or Jingliu's Signature Cone. Importantly, this synergy avoids dilution and diminishing returns from Jingliu's extensive array of buffs. Pela is generally skill point positive, making her valuable for compositions struggling with skill points, especially those involving Fuxuan as the chosen sustain unit. At E4, her skill is enhanced with Ice shred, creating a significant single target debuff for Jingliu to capitalize on, making Pela effective for both AoE clearing and single target damage!

Tingyun

Tingyun proves to be an excellent 4-star companion for Jingliu, offering increased damage, ATK%, and most importantly, an additional base damage source. Although Jingliu's multipliers are relatively low, her overall stats are significantly boosted, greatly amplifying Tingyun's Benediction Lightning damage. Jingliu specifically aims to use her ultimate during the Transcendent state. Timing Tingyun's Ultimate to provide her energy can be a bit challenging, but with careful planning and coordination, you can synchronize Jingliu and Tingyun's Ultimates to achieve two Jingliu ultimates within a single Transcendent state, resulting in massive burst damage (Enter State: Ultimate (5) + Tingyun Ult (50) + Enh Skill (30) + Enh Skill (30) + Enh Skill (30) = 145).

Silver Wolf

Silver Wolf offers valuable single-target support, enhancing damage without being significantly affected by diminishing returns from Jingliu's abilities. Additionally, she reinforces the Quantum 4-piece set bonus, increasing its consistency and potency. Silver's DEF shred ultimate synergizes exceptionally well with both Jingliu's abilities and her Signature Cone.

Fu Xuan

Fu Xuan stands as one of the most robust sustaining choices for Jingliu, given that your team can sustain itself primarily through Fuxuan's modest heals, even while Jingliu depletes their health. Because Jingliu doesn't heavily rely on skill points, Fuxuan's main drawback is nullified. Her substantial HP pool and HP-enhancing effect promptly fulfill Jingliu's talent ATK% boost prerequisite, even with lower-tier gear levels. Additionally, Fuxuan supplies essential CRIT Rate, aiding in reaching Jingliu's CRIT cap.

Blade

Each time Jingliu attacks, she depletes the team's HP, which counts as damage dealt to Blade, activating his Talent. In specific team setups, Jingliu significantly increases the frequency of Blade's Talent triggers, sometimes up to three times more than usual. This transforms Blade into a formidable AoE powerhouse, providing him with extra energy and nearly invincible status due to the extensive healing he receives.

Fu Xuan plays a prominent role in The Xianzhou Luofu's Trailblazer Quests as the leader of the Divination Commission. Beyond her significant role in the game's lore, she's a formidable character that players can consider adding to their teams in Honkai: Star Rail.

In Honkai: Star Rail, Fu Xuan is classified as a Quantum Preservation character. Version 1.3 of the game introduced Lynx under her banner, allowing players to create a mono-Quantum team if they already possess Silver Wolf. This team can be complemented with characters like Seele or Qingque. Whether you're building a mono-element or multi-element team, Fu Xuan proves highly valuable for handling challenging content such as the Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster, thanks to her ability to withstand powerful enemy attacks.

Fu Xuan Best Build In Honkai: Star Rail

Fu Xuan Trace Priority

All of Fu Xuan's traces, except for her Basic Attack, are quite valuable. Players are recommended to focus on her Ultimate and Skill first, with Talent and Basic Attack being a lower priority.

Fu Xuan Best Relics In Honkai: Star Rail

Unlike other Preservation characters, Fu Xuan's abilities rely on HP rather than DEF, offering players a fresh approach to building Preservation characters. However, this choice means that Fu Xuan may not gain as much advantage from Planar Ornaments such as "Belobog of the Architects" or "Knight of Purity Palace," even though she has higher DEF, which could enhance her survivability. Instead, it's advisable for players to concentrate on equipping either the 4-piece "Guard of Wuthering Snow" set or combining this set with "Longevous Disciple." While the 2-piece "Longevous Disciple" set can be beneficial for players lacking significant HP in their primary and secondary stats, those with higher HP might prefer the full "Guard of Wuthering Snow" set.

When selecting Planar Ornaments for Fu Xuan, players can choose between "Broken Keel" and "Fleet of the Ageless," both of which provide support capabilities by boosting ally stats while simultaneously enhancing Fu Xuan's own stats. However, considering that Fu Xuan already gains Effect RES through her ascension tree and "Broken Keel" itself, most players will find it easier to consistently trigger this Planar Ornament's effect. Furthermore, having extra Effect RES will greatly benefit Fu Xuan by reducing the occurrence of negative status effects from opponents, which can be crucial in challenging battles. Conversely, those planning to build Fu Xuan for speed (especially by using Speed boots instead of HP%) can effectively utilize "Fleet of the Ageless" instead.

For the main relic stats on Fu Xuan, it's generally recommended that players focus on HP% wherever applicable, except for the Link Rope relic, where Energy Regeneration is highly valuable to enable Fu Xuan to activate her Ultimate as often as possible. However, considering that Fu Xuan's Ultimate deals significant AoE damage, players who want to enhance her DPS capabilities may also consider focusing on Crit DMG for the Body piece, especially since she can increase her and her allies' Crit Rate and has Crit Rate ascension bonus stats. Nevertheless, since she primarily excels in damage mitigation, HP% will still be more suitable for most players.

As for the sub-stats, players should prioritize HP, Crit DMG, DEF, and Speed in this order to maximize Fu Xuan's effectiveness in combat.

Fu Xuan Best Light Cones In Honkai: Star Rail

Considering that Fu Xuan doesn't derive substantial benefits from DEF-focused light cones, players should prioritize Preservation light cones that offer alternative effects rather than DEF. The one exception to this rule is "Moment of Victory," which happens to be Gepard's signature light cone. Nevertheless, players can make more effective use of other 5-star options, such as "She Already Shut Her Eyes," Fu Xuan's own signature light cone. This particular light cone boosts Fu Xuan's HP and Energy Regeneration rate, provides healing to allies, and offers a damage bonus, making it the optimal choice.

For a free-to-play-friendly 5-star alternative, players can consider "Texture of Memories," which is available for purchase in the Simulated Universe's Herta Store. When fully enhanced, this light cone significantly enhances Fu Xuan's Effect Res, reducing her vulnerability to enemy debuff-related attacks. Additionally, it supplies a shield based on her maximum HP, which can prove valuable since Fu Xuan lacks the ability to generate shields independently. On that note, players seeking a highly defensive option can easily opt for this light cone instead of her signature one to conserve resources while still achieving a substantial character build.

Among the 4-star alternatives, "Landau's Choice" stands out as the best selection. It increases the likelihood of Fu Xuan being targeted by attacks while simultaneously reducing the damage she incurs. However, it's worth noting that in battles where opponents predominantly deal AoE damage, this effect may not hold as much significance. Players should carefully consider their specific battle circumstances when choosing a light cone.

Fu Xuan best team comp

The most effective team composition for Fu Xuan in Honkai: Star Rail is the mono-Quantum setup, with primary support from Silver Wolf. This team exclusively comprises Quantum characters, ensuring that Silver Wolf can exploit the Quantum weakness of the enemy. This weakness enables Seele to inflict substantial damage, allowing the entire team to swiftly break through the enemy's Toughness.

In contrast to the previous team strategy where Lynx used taunt on the DPS, in this setup, Lynx will utilize her Skill on Fu Xuan. If players possess Fu Xuan's Light Cone skill, She Already Shut Her Eyes, the Master Diviner enhances the team's overall damage output when Fu Xuan's HP is reduced. However, even without this skill, Fu Xuan can still bear the brunt of damage due to her Preservation character trait, allowing her to accumulate HP and withstand numerous attacks. Additionally, she possesses the ability to self-heal when her HP is critically low, making her a highly dependable and easy-to-maintain tank.

Hook is a character who often goes unnoticed. This mischievous young child may appear innocuous, but she holds the esteemed position of being the foremost damage dealer in the Honkai: Star Rail 1.0 game when it comes to Fire abilities. With her Diggertron, she can set foes ablaze and cause explosive damage, proving her competence even in confrontations with multiple enemies.

For players seeking a formidable unit specialized in dealing Fire damage in Honkai: Star Rail, investing in Hook is an excellent choice. Her entire skill set is meticulously crafted to inflict significant harm on adversaries. However, in order to fully unleash her potential, it is crucial to assemble her with the appropriate equipment and enhancements, as she primarily functions as a damage per second (DPS) character.

Honkai: Star Rail Hook Build

Hook belongs to the Destruction archetype, granting her proficiency in delivering damage to both single targets (ST) and multiple targets (AOE). Players have the option to prioritize enhancing her basic attack attributes for a well-rounded setup, or they can concentrate on maximizing her ability to apply damage over time (DoT) effects, which is particularly beneficial in specific team compositions tailored to exploit such capabilities.

Consider using the following on Hook:

• Core Stat Priorities: CRIT, ATK%, SPD
• Planar Ornament Stats: Fire DMG, ATK%
• Relic Sets: Firesmith of Lava-Forging (4PC), Space Sealing Station (2PC)
• Light Cones: On the Fall of an Aeon (5-Star), The Moles Welcome You (4-Star), Woof! Walk Time! (4-Star)

To optimize Hook's performance, players should prioritize maximizing her damage output to effectively break Toughness bars. It is advisable to search for Relics with defensive substats to ensure she doesn't get defeated instantly in high-level content. Additionally, incorporating some Effect Hit Rate on Hook's Relics is recommended to enhance her ability to consistently apply the Burn effect against formidable opponents.

The Firesmith of Lava-Forging set is the primary choice for Fire characters' Relics. This set significantly boosts the damage of their next attack after using their Ultimate ability, aligning perfectly with Hook's playstyle. However, if players prefer upfront damage, they can switch to the Musketeer of Wild Wheat set. In case there is a need for more Critical Hit (CRIT) statistics, the Planar Ornament set can be replaced with either the Inert Salsotto or Celestial Differentiator sets.

All 5-star Light Cones are suitable for Hook, but On the Fall of an Aeon synergizes exceptionally well with her, given her reliance on continuous enemy attacks. The Moles Welcome You can be considered as a more budget-friendly alternative, which performs equally effectively. Another commendable choice, especially for free-to-play (F2P) players, is the Woof! Walk Time! Light Cone, as it amplifies the wearer's damage against Burning targets.

Hook Abilities and Trace Leveling Order

Hook's job is to deal damage, and that's exactly what all of her abilities do. Leveling her up is pretty straightforward:

• Boom! Here Comes the Fire! (Ultimate)
• Hey! Remember Hook? (Skill)
• Ha! Oil to the Flames! (Talent)
• Basic attack

A significant portion of Hook's damage output stems from utilizing her Skill ability, which excels at inflicting damage on a single target. However, when Hook employs her Ultimate, her Skill is enhanced, allowing it to cause damage to multiple enemies. Moreover, it possesses a guaranteed 100% chance to inflict the Burn status effect, adding an extra advantage.

Burn holds a crucial role in Hook's abilities. Her innate Talent enables her to deal increased Fire damage when attacking targets that are already burning. Additionally, upon unlocking Hook's first Ascension passive, triggering her Talent will also grant her a small amount of HP regeneration. This combination of free damage and healing permits players to allocate additional Effect Hit Rate to their statistics without compromising their overall damage per second (DPS) output and survivability.

As always, it is advisable to acquire floating stat Traces and activate Ascension passives whenever the situation calls for them.

Honkai: Star Rail Hook Team Comps

Hook, categorized as a Destruction character, possesses the ability to reliably deal both single-target (ST) and area-of-effect (AOE) damage. In comparison to other units, she naturally exhibits greater durability, and she possesses a degree of self-sustainability in terms of maintaining her own HP, thanks to one of her Ascension passives. With substantial investment and a dose of good fortune, Hook can potentially tackle Simulated Universe Worlds independently. However, for general gameplay, it is always advisable to have a well-rounded cast of supporting characters by her side.

Ult Charge Hypercarry Team

Hook heavily relies on frequent usage of her abilities to maximize her damage output, especially when confronting groups of three or more enemies. This makes her an excellent choice for a speed (SPD)-oriented hypercarry composition, which includes two Support characters capable of enhancing her offensive capabilities.

• DPS: Hook
• Support 1: Tingyun
• Support 2: Bronya/Asta
• Tank: March 7th/Fire Trailblazer

In this team setup, Tingyun takes precedence as the primary Support due to her ability to charge Hook's Ultimate with her own. Tingyun's Ascension 6 passive, as the leader of the Moles, grants her 5 Energy each time she employs her Ultimate while advancing her next turn by 20%. This synergizes well with Hook's performance when coupled with SPD buffs from Asta, although Bronya's Combat Redeployment can achieve a similar effect.

March 7th and Fire Trailblazer are the preferred Tank options, as they can assist Hook in enduring enemy attacks. These Tanks can redirect enemy aggro towards themselves, and if the enemy executes a sweeping attack, Hook may be incidentally hit, generating a small amount of energy for herself. Typically, such damage is insignificant since Hook can replenish her HP whenever she strikes a Burning target.

One drawback of this team composition is its heavy reliance on equipping Hook with the best possible Relics and Light Cones. If she fails to dispatch enemies swiftly enough, the team may encounter challenges regarding survivability.

Double Burn Team

This team composition shares similarities with the previous one, but it primarily relies on having a second character capable of inflicting the Burn debuff on enemies. Currently, in the initial version of Honkai: Star Rail, Hook and Himeko are the only characters with abilities that can apply this debuff. However, future character releases may expand the possibilities for this setup.

• DPS: Hook
• Sub-DPS: Himeko
• Tank: March 7th/Fire Trailblazer
• Flex slot: Healer or Support

As mentioned earlier, Hook's complete set of abilities comes into play when her enemies are burning. In addition to her passive healing, her Talent grants her bonus ATK% and 5 Energy whenever she attacks a target afflicted with the Burn status. Himeko can ignite this interaction while simultaneously dealing considerable AOE damage to all enemies on the battlefield, although she might require some additional Effect Hit Rate to ensure her Burns successfully land. Both characters benefit from attacking burning enemies, resulting in a natural synergy between them.

The fourth slot in this team is flexible, and players can choose whether they require more damage or survivability. Both Tingyun and Bronya can amplify the damage of Hook's Burn stacks while also contributing to the regeneration of her Ultimate's Energy. On the other hand, a Healer such as Natasha or Bailu can sustain the team's survival in challenging content, particularly in situations where enemies surpass the levels of the allies.

>>> Read more: Honkai Star Rail Tingyun Build Guide: Relics, Light Cones And Teams

Following the introduction of two powerful DPS characters, Seele and Jing Yuan, during the initial release, Honkai: Star Rail's version 1.1 update brings three new characters that specialize in support roles. These new additions include the 5-star Nihility character, Silver Wolf, the 5-star Abundance character, Luocha, and the 4-star Harmony character, Yukong. While Yukong will be available beyond this update, players might face difficulty in deciding whether to summon for Silver Wolf or Luocha, or to save resources for the confirmed limited characters in version 1.2, Kafka and Blade.

Both Luocha and Silver Wolf bear a striking resemblance to characters from Honkai Impact 3rd, particularly with Luocha resembling Otto and Silver Wolf resembling Haxxor Bunny Bronya. This likeness, combined with other non-gameplay factors such as likability and personality, may have already influenced some fans' decisions to pursue these characters. However, for those who solely prioritize gameplay benefits, a challenging choice awaits. Both characters excel in their respective areas of expertise, making it essential for players to carefully consider various factors before determining which one holds greater value for them in Honkai: Star Rail.

Silver Wolf Or Luocha In Honkai: Star Rail

The latest update offers players a generous amount of Stellar Jade and various rewards, which could potentially sway their thoughts on both Silver Wolf and Luocha. Nonetheless, for players who value resource management, choosing between these two characters carries considerable importance. The good news is that these characters bring unique synergies to a team due to their distinct roles. Several factors must be taken into account by players, including the team's specific role needs, the feasibility of building them without excessive resource expenditure, and their individual strengths and weaknesses. Considering these factors is essential before making a decision on which character to prioritize.

Roles

Silver Wolf, classified as a Nihility character, primarily focuses on imposing potent debuffs on enemies, which enhances the team's damage output. She possesses the ability to reduce enemy DEF and elemental resistance. Notably, her unique skill enables her to potentially exploit an enemy's weakness based on the elemental affinity of one of her allies. When effectively built, she can also serve as a secondary DPS character, aiding in the breaking of enemy weaknesses by consistently attacking. Moreover, if her technique is utilized prior to engaging in battle, she can reduce the overall resilience of all opponents, regardless of their specific weakness types.

Luocha, an Abundance character, specializes in providing healing and additional defensive support. It is important to highlight that Luocha's healing mechanics differ from those of existing healing characters like Bailu and Natasha. His healing primarily focuses on single targets and possesses a certain level of unpredictability. This is due to the fact that Luocha's healing is dependent on his skill, which targets a single ally, and particularly the field he deploys after accumulating 2 stacks. The deployment of this field may take time unless players employ Luocha's technique before initiating combat. Unlike Bailu and Natasha, whose Ultimates provide AoE healing, Luocha's Ultimate removes a buff from all opponents and inflicts Imaginary Damage upon them. Conversely, Luocha's field enables him to heal any ally who attacks an enemy, and with his ascension bonuses, he can also provide a smaller amount of healing to other allies while they engage in attacks. Additionally, with his first eidolon, this field grants an attack buff to all allies.

Builds

When considering the builds for both characters, players should take into account whether they have appropriate relics and light cones to maximize each character's benefits. As a Nihility character, Silver Wolf greatly benefits from Effect Hit Rate, ATK, Speed, and Break Effect due to her abilities. It is recommended for players to focus on a 4-piece set of Genius of Brilliant Stars, Musketeer of Wild Wheat, or Thief of Shooting Meteor for Silver Wolf's equipment, or a combination of 2-piece sets with optimized sub-stats. Pan-Galactic Commercial Enterprise can be a useful planar ornament to increase her Effect Hit Rate and ATK, although Space Sealing Station is also a viable option.

It is important to note that when building Nihility characters, maximizing their stats is crucial, and players may not fully appreciate Silver Wolf's value until she is ascended and properly built. Fortunately, there are various Nihility options available for her light cones, including the newly added Before the Tutorial Mission Starts, which will be obtainable during the first event of the patch and can be fully enhanced. This means that even free-to-play players will have access to a strong 4-star option without relying on limited light cone banners. It's worth mentioning that this light cone can also benefit other Nihility characters like Pela, in case players decide not to summon for Silver Wolf or opt for a different light cone for her.

Regarding Luocha, players will notice that not only does his healing abilities differ significantly from Bailu and Natasha, but his healing scales with ATK instead of HP like them. This means that players who previously built their other healing characters cannot fully utilize their relics or light cones and will need to invest in a new set of relics. However, players who have been farming for Passerby of Wandering Cloud and Musketeer of Wild Wheat may have suitable ATK-focused pieces to use on Luocha. When farming planar ornaments for Luocha and other healers, players can save on Trailblaze Power as Space Sealing Station from World 3 provides an ATK bonus, while the Fleet of the Ageless set offers an HP stat. Furthermore, since Luocha currently has the highest ATK stat in the game, players can expect him to be valuable even without having the most optimal sub-stats on his relics, making him easier to build.

When it comes to light cones, Luocha may be less favorable for free-to-play players compared to Silver Wolf, as there aren't any non-gacha Abundance light cones that benefit him significantly. However, Post-Op Conversation can still be a suitable option. Additionally, Luocha doesn't benefit much from light cones with HP% effects, limiting his choices. This might tempt players to summon for his 5-star light cone, Echoes of the Coffin, which is excellent for him. Nevertheless, players can still consider 4-star light cones that enhance Outgoing Healing, such as Perfect Timing or Shared Feeling, if they were fortunate enough to obtain them from gacha.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Despite their remarkable strengths in their designated roles, both characters also possess certain limitations that players should consider before determining which character to summon for.

Silver Wolf

Luocha

>>> Read more: Honkai Star Rail Serval Build Guide: Relics, Light Cones And Teams

Serval, the resident rock star of Belobog, possesses the incredible ability to create a storm-like impact using her electric guitar. Within the game Honkai Star Rail, she utilizes bolts of lightning to strike her enemies, inflicting widespread damage in the area, and as a result, she plays a vital role as a member of the Astral Express and the expanding team of Trailblazers.

Similar to other characters, Serval possesses her own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Understanding how to tailor her abilities around these traits is crucial for fully unleashing her potential. Nevertheless, given the vast array of choices available to players in Honkai Star Rail, it can be bewildering to find the optimal combination of statistics and effects for Serval. To provide clarity on this matter, here's a guide that aims to shed light on the topic.

1. Best Serval Build in Honkai Star Rail

Serval shines as an area-of-effect (AOE) damage-dealing unit who inflicts harm through both direct attacks and Shock procs. She stands in contrast to someone like Dan Heng, who specializes in delivering significant bursts of damage to single targets. Keeping this distinction in mind, players should prioritize acquiring Effect Hit Rate and ATK% stats to enhance Serval's effectiveness in her role.

• Core Stat Priorities: Effect Hit Rate, ATK% CRIT Rate, Speed,
• Planar Ornament Stat Priorities: Lightning DMG%, ATK%
• Relic Sets: Band of Sizzling Thunder (4PC), Space Sealing Station (2PC)
• Light Cones: Night on the Milky Way (5-star), The Seriousness of Breakfast (4-star), Sagacity (3-star)

A substantial portion of Serval's damage output originates from the Shock procs caused by her Skill, Lightning Flash, as well as the additional hits triggered when attacking a Shocked target. Her ultimate ability, Here Comes The Mechanical Fever, not only deals Lightning damage to all enemies on the field but also extends the duration of any active Shock effects. Consequently, ATK% is more crucial than CRIT stats since damage-over-time (DoT) effects like Shock are incapable of critically striking.

Lightning Flash initially possesses an 80% base chance to inflict Shock, and players can easily raise it to 100% by reaching Serval's Ascension 2. However, it's essential to consider that the enemy's Effect RES might hinder her ability to consistently trigger Shock procs. To compensate for this, it's advisable to allocate some stats towards increasing Effect Hit Rate.

Regarding Light Cones, Serval can make effective use of any enhancements that boost her damage. Sagacity is a viable early choice since Serval should always utilize her ultimate whenever it becomes available. However, options like The Seriousness of Breakfast can offer more reliable results. Additionally, higher-tier Light Cones inherently possess superior base stats compared to their 3-star counterparts.

2. Best Serval Team Comps In Honkai: Star Rail

Serval, functioning as an Erudition unit, primarily focuses on eliminating numerous weak enemies through her potent area-of-effect (AOE) attacks. What truly sets her apart, though, is her proficiency in inflicting and sustaining the Shock status on her targets. This grants her respectable single-target damage capabilities and establishes intriguing synergies with select members of the Honkai: Star Rail's cast.

DoT Face Melter Team

Serval's standout feature lies in her ability to inflict Shock, which contributes significantly to her performance. While her primary source of damage still stems from her main attacks, the cumulative effect of Shock ticks can swiftly accumulate and deliver surprising damage throughout the entire battle. This becomes particularly potent when paired with teammates capable of stacking or enhancing damage-over-time (DoT) effects.

• DPS 1: Serval
• DPS 2: Sampo
• Support: Asta
• Tank/Healer: Gepard/Natasha

Sampo possesses the ability to amplify the damage caused by outgoing DoT effects, all the while inflicting Wind Shear through his Skill, Ricochet Love. On the other hand, Asta boosts the team's speed (SPD), facilitating faster stacking of DoT effects. Once Kafka is introduced to the game, either Sampo or Asta can be replaced by her. Kafka's entire skill set revolves around Shock damage, making her an ideal partner for Serval in a DoT-focused team.

With this team composition, players can navigate through the Forgotten Hall content and experience the utmost effectiveness in Simulated Universe World 4's Path of Nihility. Anticipate even greater strength for this team as more Harmony characters are introduced into the game.

Main DPS Showstopper Team

Players aiming to utilize Serval as their primary DPS unit should prioritize stacking CRIT stats on her Relics instead of the typical ATK/Effect Hit Rate combination. While this approach may result in less consistent Shock application, it will significantly enhance the overall damage she inflicts with her Skill and Ultimate abilities.

• DPS: Serval
• Support: Pela/Bronya
• Tank: Fire Trailblazer
• Healer: Natasha/Bailu

Pela proves to be a reliable Support character for various teams due to her proficiency in reducing enemy DEF. She particularly excels against Elites, as she can dispel the buffs they bestow upon themselves. Other Support characters like Tingyun and Bronya can also fulfill this role, although it's important to note that Serval may not be able to fully capitalize on their buffs as efficiently as other DPS characters due to her lack of turn reset skills.

Given that Serval primarily deals AOE damage, this team composition might face challenges in the Forgotten Hall or other content with a turn limit. However, it demonstrates remarkable strength against encounters involving minions, such as the Svarog fight in the Simulated Universe, the weekly Cocolia boss challenge, and any future content featuring waves of enemies.

>>> Read more: Honkai Star Rail Tingyun Build Guide: Relics, Light Cones And Teams